Why look at 4-hour, 1-hour, and 15-minute candlesticks?
Many people in the cryptocurrency circle repeatedly fall into traps because they only focus on one time frame.
Today, I'll discuss my commonly used multi-timeframe candlestick trading method. It consists of three simple steps: grasping the direction, finding entry points, and timing.
1. 4-hour candlestick: Determines your major direction for going long or short
This timeframe is long enough to filter out short-term noise and clearly see the trend:
• Uptrend: Highs and lows rising together → Buy the dip
• Downtrend: Highs and lows falling together → Short on the rebound
• Sideways consolidation: Price fluctuating within a range, which can lead to getting caught out easily. It's not advisable to trade frequently here.
Remember this: Trading with the trend increases your win rate; trading against it only gives away money.
2. 1-hour candlestick: Used to define ranges and find key levels
Once the major trend is confirmed, the 1-hour chart can help you identify support/resistance:
• Approaching trend lines, moving averages, or previous lows are potential entry points
• As you near previous highs, important resistance, or a top formation, consider taking profits or reducing your position.
3. 15-minute candlestick: Just for the final 'trigger action'
This timeframe is specifically for finding entry opportunities, not for trend analysis:
• Wait for a small timeframe reversal signal (engulfing, bottom divergence, golden cross) at key price levels before acting
• Ensure volume is present for breakouts to be reliable; otherwise, you may face false moves.
How to coordinate multiple timeframes?
1. First define the direction: Use the 4-hour chart to determine whether to go long or short
2. Find the entry zone: Use the 1-hour chart to mark support or resistance areas
3. Enter precisely: Use the 15-minute chart to find the final signal before entry.
A few additional points:
• If the directions of several timeframes conflict, it's better to stay out of the market and observe rather than take uncertain trades.
• Small timeframes have rapid fluctuations, always set stop losses to prevent being repeatedly stopped out.
• Combining trend, position, and timing effectively is much better than guessing randomly at the charts.
I've used this multi-timeframe candlestick method for over 2 years, and it’s the foundational configuration for stable outputs. Whether you can use it well depends on your willingness to look at charts more often and summarize your findings.
